Gala Win Cup, Torrens And Bird Return

07.01.2013

BASKETBALL IN EUROPE

Sancho Lyttle left it late to win the game for Galatasaray over arch rivals Fenerbahce

Galatasaray have been crowned Turkish Cup champions for the fourth consecutive season after MVP Sancho Lyttle drained a thrilling buzzer-beater in a dramatic 74-72 victory against arch rivals Fenerbahce.

In a truly gripping final, it had looked as if Fenerbahce were going to prevail after they worked their way back from 15 points behind when Cappie Pondexter nailed a triple to level the scores with just 1 second remaining on the game clock.

But, just when everyone was anticipating overtime, Gala inbounded the ball to Lyttle, who helped by a nice drop off the backboard, got the all-important score which provided the spark for her team-mates to rush onto the court and mob her in triumph.

There were extra reasons to celebrate for Galatasaray, since they not only avenged their heavy Presidents' Cup loss to Fener at the start of the campaign, but also welcomed back Spanish national team star Alba Torrens from long-term injury.

Bird Suits Up For UMMC Again

There was also a return in the Russian League over the weekend, as Sue Bird pulled on a UMMC Ekaterinburg vest on for the first time this season, after recovering from hip surgery.

She appeared in a comfortable 78-57 success against Rostov-Don, as Ekat bounced back from their first loss of the season, having been defeated last month by Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje.

Whilst the playmaker didn't score, she did manage a healthy 25 minutes after starting the process of trying to get her match sharpness back.

Dynamo Moscow are having a great season and they find themselves in second place having still only lost twice in the league. Their latest success being a crushing 81-55 win against fellow EuroCup Women participants Chevakata as Tatiana Vidmer led the way with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

There were also wins for EuroLeague Women duo Nadezhda and Sparta&K with the former leaving it late to defeat Dynamo-GUVD by 83-69 and the latter dominating Energia Ivanovo 84-53.

BLMA Retain Top Spot In France

Edwige Lawson was in fine fettle for BLMA, pouring in 27 points against Tarbes

Arras reacted to the ongoing misery by parting ways with head coach Thibaut Petit. Before a new coach will be presented, current assistant Cecile Piccin will be the interim coach, the club announced.

Kosice Dominate Slovak Cup

Finally, there was also Cup Final joy over the weekend for Good Angels Kosice, who continued their stunning run of domestic success after a devastating 21-3 second quarter propelled them to a convincing 76-58 Slovak Cup victory against MBK Ruzomberok. Tijana Krivacevic and Allie Quigley combined for 31 points for the winning team.